A top Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant was killed and an Army personnel critically wounded in a fierce gunbattle in Sopore on Tuesday. The police said that the militant was a deputy of Lashkar commander Abdullah Ooni,who was killed last year.

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On Tuesday afternoon,a joint team of J-K Police and the Army cordoned Mominabad neighbourhood of Sopore after information about the presence of militants in the area. As the police and army personnel were zeroing-in on the target house,militants opened fire,resulting in an encounter. A Lashkar militant,Aakash Badr was killed in the encounter.

We have killed Aakash Badr. He was deputy of Abdullah Ooni, Superintendent of Police,Sopore,Imtiyaz Hussain told The Indian Express. We have recovered the body. The operation continues as we are looking if there are other militants in the area.

The police said that the house where Badr was hiding was demolished in the encounter,and that it was used as his hide-out by the militant commander.